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2.27.2007

Is A Valentine’s Day Proposal Right For Us?

The first consideration is whether or not Valentine’s Day is even the right time for a marriage proposal. If your beloved cherishes her individuality and uniqueness, popping the question on the most popular day for such events is not the best approach unless the proposal itself is exceptionally unique. On the other hand, if intimacy and romance is tantamount in your relationship and you never fail to celebrate Valentine’s Day in a special way, a proposal can make the day even more significant.

A key factor in a successful proposal, however, is not to choose a day because of an arbitrary holiday: if the time is right, the proposal will be meaningful and extraordinary, no matter what the date. If that happens to coincide with Valentine’s Day, so much the better, but either rushing or delaying a marriage proposal in order to utilize a holiday can taint the intentions behind the question.

GiftsMany couples exchange gifts on Valentine’s Day: stuffed animals, trinkets, cards, and novelty items are among the most popular (after flowers and chocolates, of course). Incorporating an engagement ring and subsequent proposal into that gift imbues it with greater significance and insures that both the gift and the proposal are even more memorable. For example, a simple teddy bear or other stuffed animal can easily convey the gentleman’s intention when the ring is fastened to a ribbon around its neck. For a more delicate approach, substitute a jeweled box for the original ring box and when the woman opens it she will find a glittering gift worth far more than a simple box.

MealsRomantic, candlelit dinners are a staple event on Valentine’s Day, and many upscale restaurants are happy to assist with marriage proposals by arranging private music or presenting the ring with a particular course, such as dessert. While food-oriented proposals may seem unique and ingenious, they are anything but: great care must be taken so that the ring is not soiled by the food, and it should never be placed in a position where it may accidentally be consumed (in a glass of champagne, for example, or baked into a cake). To add uniqueness to a mealtime proposal, consider forgoing dessert in favor of a “sweet surprise” in a more isolated place, or create an individualized ring box in the shape of a dessert treat. Proposing a toast to your united future is another way to propose marriage in conjunction with an intimate meal.

Flowers Flowers are one of the most popular Valentine’s Day gifts, particularly red and pink roses. To make the bouquet truly sparkle, consider tying the ring to the blooms or gently inserting it into the center of a particularly vibrant flower. This must be done delicately, however: if the flowers are handled carelessly, the ring could easily be lost. Unique floral options include replicating a friend’s or relative’s bridal bouquet (preferably one your beloved caught) and presenting the ring with that sentimental arrangement, or customizing a white bouquet in a golden vase to represent the ring itself (choose coordinating colored flowers if using a non-traditional engagement ring such as an emerald or topaz).

ChocolatesParticularly for younger women, Valentine’s Day would not be complete without chocolates. To coordinate a proposal with this decadent treat, buy a gourmet selection but replace one or two pieces in the heart-shaped box with the ring box. If the ring box will not fit comfortably in the chocolate box, ask the sales clerk for a clean paper tissue (the brown cup individual chocolates rest in) and place the ring in the center of the treats. Be sure that the ring will not come in contact with any of the chocolates: the oils will dull the stone’s glitter and make the presentation less astonishing. Be sure to present the chocolates at room temperature – if they have been refrigerated, once the box is open moisture will condense on the cool ring, clouding its brilliance.

Whether you choose a traditional romantic proposal or opt to coordinate with gifts, flowers, chocolates, or meals, a Valentine’s Day proposal is the ultimate in romance and dedication, the perfect gesture for a day devoted to love and the intimate connections between a couple. No matter when you propose, however, the key is that the question comes from your heart, and in doing so it will melt the heart of your beloved and be a treasured beginning to your life together.

"Ninety-nine percent of our business comes from the Internet, and it all comes from those Internet searches," said Fisher, whose company arranges travel packages to Hawai'i. "Without search-engine rankings, you just don't have it."

The advantage of being on the first page of a Google, Yahoo or MSN search is undeniable. The search engine, which barely existed 10 years ago, now plays a dominant role in the travel industry.

More than half of American travelers use the Internet to plan their trips, and more than 40 percent book their travel online, according to a 2005 Travel Industry Association of America report.

The key to reaching these customers, business owners say, is appearing near the top of the "unsponsored" search engine results. That's the list of Web sites the search engines serve up based on a formula that seeks out the most popular and useful pages.Businesses can always buy space, or "sponsored" links, on search engines, but those get less attention.

Reaching the top of the unsponsored list is no easy matter. Search engines rank sites using their own complex algorithms. They generally take into account factors such as links from other sites and page content.

"Ranking high on natural links is very important for marketers because people's attention tends to wane the farther down the page that they go," said Noah Elkin, vice president of communications for iCrossing Inc., an interactive marketing agency headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz. "The click-through rates are much higher, the higher up on the page your site appears."

Search engines are more important than other types of media — including TV, magazines, radio and newspapers — in driving consumers to travel sites, according to Jupiter Research.

Roger Parsons, owner of A Wedding in Hawaii, has a spot near the top of Google's unsponsored results for "Hawai'i weddings." He's been in the visitor wedding business since 1980 and used to advertise in Modern Bride magazine and a couple of local publications. Before the Internet, Parsons was happy to do eight or 10 visitor weddings a month.

"But when I went on the Internet ... it was just incredible," Parsons said. "Business has jumped like mad, and it has gone up every year because more and more people feel comfortable ordering and buying on the Internet now."Parsons is now averaging about 35 visitor weddings a month. Virtually all of his customers find his company online, and about 30 percent book wedding packages on his Web site before they even talk to him, he said. He also noticed that the few times his rankings fell, so did his business.

Parsons said he has dropped traditional advertising and doesn't advertise on bridal Web sites, such as the popular theknot.com. Instead, he pays an independent contractor to maintain his Web site, "which keeps me on the first page" of search engine results.

"My theory is ... (a bride) might go to theknot and work her way through that to find me, but most often, I think, she'll just type 'weddings Hawaii,' and there I'll be."

Parsons said he dropped out of the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau, so he will no longer appear on its Web site. "I've never had somebody say, 'Oh we went to the Hawai'i Visitors Bureau, and that's where we found you.' It's: 'We found you on Yahoo or Google or whatever.' "

But other local companies like Bike Hawaii Tours say linking with tourism sites like the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau site helps drive traffic to theirs."If you're specifically looking for biking in Hawai'i, we're easy to find. We're on the first page," said Bike Hawaii Tours owner John Alford.

Being a member of the HVCB is also "a must," he said. "So many people will go to the visitor bureau Web site before they go to a destination," he said. "It's a great resource of information, and it's also trusted."

His company also links with tourism site Alternative-Hawaii "because some people don't know what they want to do; they just know they want to be active, and they might just look up 'active Hawaii,' and they might find other links that are linked to us."

A few of Alford's customers book tours on his Web site, but many research his site, which gets about 250 to 300 visitors a day.Some of those will phone his company to book a bike trip.

"A lot of times, people will actually, while they're waiting for our tour bus to show up, have my Web pages in their hand. They've printed it out. A lot of people do their homework before they come."

Alford's company — which has six employees — doesn't limit marketing to just the Internet. He also advertises in various activity magazines in Waikiki, and Pleasant Holidays sells his tours.

Outrigger Enterprises Inc. spent virtually nothing on Internet marketing 10 years ago, but now it makes up about 25 percent of the hotel chain's marketing budget, said Barry Wallace, executive vice president of hospitality services.Outrigger monitors its unsponsored search-engine rankings and works with a searchengine marketing firm for paid search links as well as ads on other Web sites, said Bill Sthay, Outrigger's vice president of interactive commerce.About 35 percent of Outrigger's referral traffic to its Web site is from search engines, Sthay said. About 15 percent of Outrigger's nongroup customers book online, up from 10 percent in 2004.

Internet marketing has become a key element to the visitor industry, and search-engine rankings are a large part of business strategy, said state tourism liaison Marsha Wienert.

"We all know when we Google something the first one we go to usually is the first one" listed, she said. "That's human nature."

But a company's not necessarily in trouble if its site doesn't appear on the first page of a Google search, Wienert said. Many companies also get referrals from visitor-bureau sites.

"Most of the small providers don't have the marketing dollars to get their Web site out there at the level that the destination does," Wienert said. "So they rely on the destination to drive traffic to their site."

Cherry Fu, owner of the nearly year-old Girls Who Surf, said she's working to improve her unsponsored search-engine rankings. Her site can be difficult to find using general keywords, so she buys paid search advertising on Yahoo and Google and even uses Craigslist.

Fu also said surf sites and others like HVCB help direct consumers to her Web site."I'm trying to make myself most available," she said.

She said about a quarter of Girls Who Surf's advertising is Internet-based, and about two-thirds of the customers reach her via e-mail or through completing a form on her Web site. But she noted that customers usually book lessons after seeing the company's name or logo from more than one source, including online and magazines.Improving natural search rankings is equal parts art and science, said iCrossing's Elkin. Google, Yahoo, MSN and other "crawler-based" search engines visit sites regularly and rank them.

Each search engine has its own criteria for ranking a page's value.But generally, search engines consider links from other sites, with highly relevant, in-bound links counting as "votes" for a site. They also analyze the location and frequency of keywords in the link text and site content to gauge a page's relevance, Elkin said. It's vital to obtain links only from trusted sources, he added."Search engines generally place more emphasis on links from trusted sites, which is an earned attribute based on the lifespan of links from other trusted sites," he said. "Links placed on .edu and .gov domains, for example, are seen as trusted and authoritative in their respective fields, so it is a good idea to obtain links on these domains whenever possible."

Natural search links usually absorb about 80 percent of clicks, while sponsored links get about 20 percent, Elkin said.

Still, for many companies, it's not a question of using one over the other, Elkin said. Paid search links have still gotten a lot of attention and can complement natural search links by providing marketers immediate placement for campaigns such as special offers, he said.

Fisher, of Hawaii Aloha Travel, occasionally buys sponsored links for the company's cruise Web site, but because of the cost of such "pay-per-click" advertising, he relies mostly on unsponsored or "organic" searches. That means being especially diligent.

"We're constantly watching it on a daily, hourly — we're watching it by the minute," Fisher said. "I can tell you right now on the Web site which keywords they're using."While Fisher's company enjoys high rankings on certain keyword searches, he's working to raise his placement for others, such as "Hawaii cruises."

"We're working our way up on that one," Fisher said. " ... It's not just by chance you end up on the top of the page rankings. I don't know anybody who's gotten there just by chance. They've got to have a good content page, and they've got to know what the search engines are looking for."

Is Being Married in Hawaii Losing Popularity?

In a recent preliminary report from the State of Hawaii Office of Status Monitoring regarding marriage statistics in Hawaii for the past three years, a trend is appearing that just maybe being married in Hawaii may be losing its popularity. I remember back in the early 90's when couples were excited to learn that they could come to Hawaii to be married... they didn't know that there was a growing industry catering to couples from all over the country and internationally in being married in Hawaii, Maui in particular. Maui dominated the "weddingmoon" scene - the idea of being married while honeymooning in at the same time. Hawaii has long been the number one honeymoon destination in the US, and Maui, known as "the best island in the world" for 13 years, has always led the way. Although the number of marriage licenses issued during the past three years has been steadily declining from 2004 to 2006. The question is why? Is Hawaii getting a bad rap from travel agents? It Hawaii pricing its self out of the honeymoon destination market? Countless large hotel chains have recently refurbished their hotels or are going time share. Construction in Hawaii, and Maui in particular, is up. Condos and high end residential housing are keeping construction companies busy, but who are the people who are buying these homes? The rich. The expanding number of millionaires who have the money to spend and don't care how much it costs to have a home in the islands. Many rich and famous movie stars have homes in Maui. Clint Eastwood's multimillion dollar home is just 10 minutes from my modest tract house. Oprah Windfrey has a huge property on the slopes of Haleakala, the dormant 10,000 foot volcano dominating Maui's skyline. Willie Nelson, Chris Cristopherson, Carol Burnett and Jim Neighbors have been long time residence in Maui. But I'm losing my train of thought, my question is why are fewer couples coming to Hawaii to be married? Have an opinion? Let us know.